ORLANDO, Fla. — All eyes are on Orlando this weekend as one of the biggest political conventions in the country is underway.
The Conservative Political Action Conference started Friday with opening remarks from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
On Sunday, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be the final speaker at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando.
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Aides say Trump will use the speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference to blast his successor, President Joe Biden, and try to cement his status as the party’s undisputed leader going forward despite his loss in November.
“I stand before you today to declare that the incredible journey we began together four years ago is far from over,” Trump will say, according to excepts of his speech released early. “We are gathered this afternoon to talk about the future — the future of our movement, the future of our party, and the future of our beloved country.”
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The annual conference is usually held in Maryland, but this year has been moved to the Hyatt Regency in Orlando because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Attendees began arriving for the CPAC on Thursday, with opening remarks from Gov. Ron DeSantis officially kicking off the event on Friday.
“There has been an effort on the part of the governor to bring these events to Florida, so there is a favorable regulatory environment for them to come to,” University of Central Florida political science professor John Hanley said.
Hanley notes that from the Super Bowl to the canceled Republican National Convention, DeSantis has made a play to bring events in, even with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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DeSantis wrapped his introductory remarks with a message to the conservatives in attendance.
“When you engage in the battles ahead, hold the line. Stand your ground. Don’t ever back down.”
For its part, CPAC, which will be mostly indoors, is requiring an online health screening, and will have sanitation stations and masks for attendees.
The event so far at the Hyatt hotel in Orlando, Florida, has been a tribute to Trump and Trumpism, complete with a golden statue in his likeness. Speakers, including many potential GOP 2024 hopefuls, have argued the party must embrace the former president and his followers, even after the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
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“The least popular (leaders) in our party are the ones who want to erase Donald Trump and Donald Trump’s supporters from our party,” said Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, the chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee, during a Saturday panel discussion. “And let me tell you, if that happens, we won’t win back the majority in 2022. We definitely won’t win back the White House in 2024 if we erase Donald Trump.”
On Biden, Trump is expected to deliver a sharp rebuke of what he will frame as the new administration’s first month of failures, including Biden’s approach to immigration and his decision to halt construction of Trump’s southern border wall, his foreign policy posture and his handling of the economy as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki brushed off the expected criticism. “We’ll see what he says, but our focus is certainly not on what President Trump is saying at CPAC,” she told reporters.
Aside from criticizing Biden, Trump is expected to use the speech to discuss the future of the Republican Party and his “America First” movement, arguing they must stick with him to keep the new voters he brought into the party energized.
While he no longer has his social media megaphone after being barred from Twitter and Facebook, Trump has already been inching back into public life. He called into conservative news outlets after Rush Limbaugh’s death and to wish Tiger Woods well after the pro golfer was injured in a car crash. He has also issued statements, including one blasting Mitch McConnell after the Senate Republican leader excoriated Trump for inciting the Capitol riot. McConnell has since said he would “absolutely” support Trump if he were the GOP nominee in 2024.
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At his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump has been quietly meeting with aides and senior party leaders as he builds his post-presidential political operation. While he has already endorsed several pro-Trump candidates, aides have been working this past week to develop benchmarks for those seeking his endorsement to make sure the candidates are serious and have set up full-fledged political and fundraising organizations before he gets involved.
They are also planning a new super PAC that could raise unlimited amounts of money, though one aide cautioned they were still deciding whether to create a new entity or repurpose an existing America First super PAC.
Trump is not expected to announce Sunday that he will run again in 2024, but allies made clear he would continue to float the prospect.
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“You are going to see a speech on Sunday that talks about not only the beginning but what the future may look like,” Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity earlier this week. “What we will see on Sunday is we will see the start of planning for the next administration. And I can tell you, the people that are in the top of that list, all of ‘em have Trump as their last name.”
When former President Trump appears as the closing speaker Sunday, it’ll be his first public speech since leaving the White House on January 20.
Stay tuned to Channel 9 for the latest from CPAC and former President Trump’s speech on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
